Monday, December 1, 2014

The Importance of Screencasting in the Classroom

"As computer technology continues to evolve and advance, many teachers from K–12 and higher education use screencasting as an online or stand-alone teaching tool with traditional teaching approaches to enhance and engage the learning experience of their students. Sugar, Brown, and Luterbach noted that screencasting as an instructional strategy may be viewed as a modern descendent of instructional film and video."

- Michael F. Ruffini

Michael Ruffini, a professor of educational technology, describes in his captivating piece, Screencasting to Engage Learning, what screencasting is and how the process can be used as an advantageous method in an educational environment.

The overall elemental outlook of screencasting appears more appealing than other instructional strategies. In terms of multimedia elements, screencasting offers music, audio, sound effects, and digital images in addition to text. Contrary to screencasting, other instructional strategies implemented in the classroom solely use text, which are not alluring to students. Similar to the ignite talks we presented in class, screencasts have a commanding presence. In both presentations, the attention of the classroom is at full capacity because students feel interested in the manner that which learning materials are being presented.

Training — such as learning new software and orientations to new products.

Teaching — a lesson on a particular topic or showing a step-by-step process, in which students can learn material at their own pace or catch up on missed sessions.

Selling — a product.

Blogging and YouTube — communicating opinions, facts, and ideas, etc.

It is evident that various learning activities can be incorporated with the use of screencasting. Needless to say, it is most likely more beneficial for a student to visually learn how to perform a certain task rather than reading a list of instructions. Visual demonstrations create little room for ambiguities. Therefore, a student will not be uncertain or confused about a step or how to execute a step if the student initially views the demonstration.

Especially with younger learners, aural, audio, and visual learning are key methods, specifically because the human brain is more maleable